Summary of Findings and Recommendations of the Federal Security Advisory Panel on the Biennial Review of the Select Agents and Toxins List

Summary of Findings and Recommendations of the Federal Security Advisory Panel on the Biennial Review of the Select Agents and Toxins List

In its Biennial Review, the FESAP considers the removal of Coxiella burnetti, Rickettsi prowasekii, Brucella abortus, Brucella suis, Brucella melitensis, and Bacillus anthracis Pasteur strain from the Select Agents list.

2016

The FESAP recommended delisting B. abortus and R. prowazekii from the select agent list. B. abortus has a low human mortality rate, is treatable with antibiotics, rarely spreads to or among humans, and maintaining its select agent status is inhibiting the ability of the USDA to develop a vaccine for wildlife populations. R. prowazekii causes typhus, which is readily treated with antibiotics, has a low mass-casualty risk, low person-to-person transmissibility, poor environmental stability, and is difficult to grow and purify substantial quantities in vitro.